Why Only 1 Ex-Exec In Paramount Photo?

For all the star power in Paramount’s 100th anniversary photo (this month’s Vanity Fair), it’s interesting who wasn’t among the 116 individuals snapped on January 13th. Deadline has learned that no former Paramount or Viacom executives were invited to be in the photo except for one. Sure, current Paramount CEO Brad Grey, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, and Executive Chairman Sumner Redstone are present. But no Frank Biondi (who helped Redstone buy Paramount in the first place), no Barry Diller (who tried to deep-six the purchase), no Michael Eisner, no Jeffrey Katzenberg, no Sherry Lansing, no Jonathan Dolgen, no myriad more. What’s even weirder is that several of the other former Paramount execs are actually mentioned in the blurb accompanying the photo. So which former Paramount exec was invited? Former head of production Robert Evans who’s front and center in the photo “as a personal guest” of longtime pal Redstone, we’re told. Evans, of course, has been the studio’s longtime resident reprobate, complete with ample evidence that drugs and hookers were run in and out of his offices there over the years. Oh, and don’t forget that VF top editor Graydon Carter produced a documentary whitewashing Evans’ past in the published memoir The Kid Stays In The Picture. Here is Paramount’s official reason for the missing execs, courtesy of flack Steven Rubenstein: “We modeled the 100th anniversary photo on the rules used for the 90th anniversary photo, which consisted of actors, directors and current executives. The one exception was Robert Evans, who was a last-minute addition. Once again, the kid stayed in the picture.”